PDCA: The Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle

Key takeaways

PDCA is a model for solving problems and improving operations within a business.

• The PDCA cycle includes identifying a potential solution or improvement, implementing it, monitoring its execution, and, if effective, scaling it or making it standard practice.

• If the results of a PDCA cycle fall short of expectations, you can return to the planning stage and rework your approach before initiating a new cycle.

• You can extend the use of the PDCA cycle beyond change management to support product development, resource management, and project management.

Find out what the PDCA framework is, why it’s useful, when to use it, its benefits, and potential limitations. Afterward, if you’re ready to strengthen your skills in project management, enroll in the Six Sigma Yellow Belt Specialization. Beginner-friendly, this program covers Lean methodologies, correlation analysis, process optimization, root cause analysis, and more. 

What is PDCA?

PDCA is a model for solving problems and improving operations within a business. Popularized as a tool of Lean methodology, a set of principles that encourage evolutionary change, PDCA is also sometimes called the Deming wheel, Deming cycle, or Shewhart cycle. Lean emphasizes continuous improvement, and the PDCA provides a framework for implementing change in a measured way. 

Lean tools like plan-do-check-act can be used in many industries, such as manufacturing, health care, education, software development, and construction. The principles of PDCA for implementing continuous change translate into a wide range of industries to help facilitate change management, product development, resource management, and project management. 

What are the 4 stages of PDCA?

Plan-do-check-act refers to the four steps of the PDCA. Following this cycle, you will first identify a potential solution or improvement, implement the improvement, observe its execution, and, if successful, adopt it at a wider scale or as a standard practice.

The PDCA cycle provides a four-step improvement procedure. This is especially important in frameworks for continuous improvement, such as Lean and Agile methodologies, which call for iterative, repeatable processes for implementing small amounts of change to improve steadily and sustainably. 

Take a closer look at each of these steps. 

Plan

In the planning stage, you need to understand the problem you are attempting to solve or the issue you are attempting to improve. You will consider how to mitigate the problem or improve the experience. 

Then, you will plan your action, consulting with others to determine the best course of action. Another important part of this step is determining success and how you will measure it after implementing a potential solution. 

Do

Next, you will take action on a small and controlled scale. This step is like a test to see what results your plan will yield. You may encounter problems or issues you did not anticipate, and remember to make sure you are using the same parameters defined in your plan. When testing hypotheses, it’s a good idea to test in a controlled environment so you can address challenges without disrupting the larger process. 

Check

Since you may need time to smooth out the obstacles you encounter in the last step, after some time passes, you’ll need to stop and evaluate your plan. This is an essential step in the PDCA process, which allows you to optimize your results and avoid perpetuating mistakes. Did you have the results you hoped for or were expecting? Remember to compare the results you achieved with your definition of what success would look like. 

You can also look for steps that weren’t necessary to your process or ways to make your potential improvement more efficient. You may discover unintended impacts from the improvement, whether positive or negative. This information can help you proceed to the next step of company-wide adoption. 

Act

In the last step of the PDCA cycle, you will act on your plan now that you have checked the results. You can take your improvement out of the small control group you tested it in, make any necessary adjustments, and implement it on a larger scale throughout the company. 

PDCA is an iterative cycle, which means you will focus on continuously making small improvements even once your organization implements the new method. If you do not achieve the expected results, you can return to the planning stage and rework your approach in preparation for beginning a new PDCA cycle. 

Benefits and limitations of the PDCA cycle

The PDCA cycle offers many benefits to your team, making it a great framework for many organizations. Benefits you may notice with this framework include: 

• Flexibility: You can adapt the PDCA framework to various applications and industries.

• Systematic: The PDCA model offers a prescribed system for implementing change, helping you start faster without planning your system. 

• Simple and effective: The PDCA cycle is simple to implement and easy to learn while delivering effective results over time. 

On the other hand, PDCA has its limitations, and each is worth considering before adoption. A couple of potential limitations include: 

• Can be slow: A systematic approach can sometimes slow things down, and PDCA encourages continuous but incremental change, which can take time. 

• Requires buy-in: PDCA is part of an ongoing improvement process, which will require a commitment from company leadership and team members to keep it going. 

Who uses the PDCA cycle, and when should it be used?

You can use the PDCA cycle in many applications where you are implementing a change or an improvement, such as: 

• Improving processes

• Starting a new business process

• Establishing a continuous improvement culture

• Developing a design

• Solving a problem

Read more: What Is Management Science? + How to Enter This Field

What's the difference between PDCA and DMAIC?

PDCA focuses on continuous, incremental improvement through a simple cycle suited for everyday problem-solving, while DMAIC, which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, control, is a data-driven Six Sigma approach ideal for complex, large-scale process improvements. DMAIC relies heavily on data analysis and statistical tools for diagnosing issues and tracking outcomes. PDCA, in contrast, is less data-intensive. 

PDCA examples

Two organizations that have benefited from the PDCA cycle include Nike and the Mayo Clinic. 

At one point, Nike faced criticism for paying its employees low wages, and in response, it decided to implement the PDCA process to address the problem. As a result of this continuous improvement strategy, the company was able to improve working conditions, cut out waste, and hire managers driven by values. This approach also helped Nike increase its financial success. 

The Mayo Clinic performed a study evaluating the time patients had to wait to determine whether they were candidates for large cochlear implant surgery. The study examined certain variables, such as improving specific treatments, handling medical records, and spending time in the waiting room. After applying the PDCA principles, the wait time decreased for patients waiting to undergo testing to discover if they were viable candidates for this surgery. 

Explore our free resources on project management 

Join Career Chat on LinkedIn for weekly updates on popular skills, tools, and certifications. Discover more about project management with our other free digital resources: 

• Learn the terminology: Project Management Terms and Definitions

• Watch on YouTube: Agile vs. Scrum: A Quick Guide to Mastering These Project Management Philosophies

• Read our Career Chat issue: Project Management Tools: Uses + Considerations

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